And, you need to remember that this can be misdiagnosed because the burning in the chest symptom of heartburn is also a symptom of ischemic heart disease, which is a much more serious illness. This is why you have to go to your doctor when you experience heartburn. This way, you will be diagnosed properly and be given the proper medications for the type of disease you have. You also have to lessen your consumption of food that damages the esophagus, such as spicy food, tomatoes, citrus juices and fruits, and even tomato sauces. After a big meal, you need to take a rest for at least 2 to 3 hours. Avoid doing any activities that forces acid back in to the esophagus, such as lifting, straining, and coughing. You should also avoid spicy foods as they are very difficult to digest, which causes the stomach to produce more acid, which ultimately means increasing the likelihood of heartburn. Drinking a cup of green tea or any herbal tea will help reduce the frequency of heartburn. This is because the tea will reduce unwanted toxins in your body, which is mainly one of the causes of increased stomach acid production. However, this is not always true as there are quite a lot of people who have successfully treated heartburn without depending too much on medications. A lot of heartburn sufferers today are what you can call pill poppers because they are told by medical professionals that taking drugs is the only way to alleviate the symptoms associated by heartburn. What the doctor will do is conduct a series of test in order to determine what is causing you to experience chronic heartburn. One of the tests is called the upper GI endoscopy. You will be lightly sedated and a special camera will be used to take a look at your esophagus and your stomach. This way, the doctor conducting the procedure will be able to see how much damage has been done to the esophagus from stomach acid. This is what you will feel when you experience heartburn. In most cases, heartburn occurs a few hours after eating. The pain can last for many hours and this condition will make you feel as if food is stuck on your chest or your throat. If not treated, heartburn can result to a more serious condition, such as scarring of the esophagus and on rare cases, it can even cause cancer of the esophagus.